Love Behind Bars
by Cullens Incarcerated
Summary: Entry for the Cullens Incarcerated Contest.


"**Cullens Incarcerated Contest"**

**Story Title: **Love Behind Bars.

**Main Characters:** Bella and Jasper

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight, all rights to Stephanie Meyer.

**To see other entries in the "Cullens Incarcerated" contest, please visit the profile: http://www . fanfiction . net/u/2163960**

* * *

**Bella's POV**

It was my first day on the job as a prison warden at HM Stocken. I always thought it was weird to have women working in a male prison, I would have thought that they don't allow it because of sexual tension or something.

*

I got up and got ready to leave the house all before eight am. That was a good start, as I was supposed to start at nine am, and it only took me half an hour to get to work. When I got in, I went straight to the officers' room and grabbed a cup of coffee. It was where I met one of the other officers who were also working that day, his name was Carlisle Cullen. He told me he had two other son's working at the prison as well.

He seemed nice enough, he was calm, collected, very confident and really handsome, and he has blonde hair and brown eyes. He was completely gorgeous, but for some reason he didn't seem interested. He later told me he was married.

We sat down and started to get to know each other for the few minutes we had before the shift started. I learned that Carlisle had a wife, Esme, and they had been happily married for 30 years, and that Edward and Emmett were their sons, but they were also spoken for, by Alice and Rosalie respectively. Carlisle showed me some pictures of them from previous outings, and just from the picture I could tell they were all very good looking.

During our conversation, two very attractive men walked into the room with a confident air about them, talking animatedly amongst themselves. Carlisle introduced me to them, they were Emmett and Edward. Emmett was tall; he had a big muscular build and was polished off with a round face and when he smiled you could really see his dimples. Edward on the other hand was very attractive, he had bronze coloured hair, slim but you could tell he worked out.

They sat down on a couple of seats surrounding Carlisle and I, making polite conversation.

At nine, a bell rang loudly and I jumped at the sound of it, which made the guys laugh.

We made our way out of the office and we headed towards our respective sections. Carlisle was in Section 6, Edward in Section 3, and Emmett in Section 2.

"It's just the bell for changing shifts. You'll be fine. Good luck, and keep out of Whitlock's way!" Emmett shouted, before turning around the corner.

_Whitlock? Who the hell is Whitlock? Another guard or maybe a prisoner? _

The thought left my head as I decided not to focus on it, and I made my way towards my section. My job is to make sure that the prisoners were to behave, keep quiet, and not cause any disturbances. When it was necessary take them to meetings, meals and to doctor's appointments, I was also to accompany them.

First thing on my agenda was to introduce myself to all the prisoners. I thought it was necessary for them to know the person who was guarding them. Things could get awkward if something happened, and they realised they had a female guard without being told before hand.

_What if I fall flat on my face? If I get fired? If I get hurt?_ I nervously thought when I remembered this.

I told myself to calm down, and I started breathing deeply though my nose and exhale through my mouth to relax. It was something I had learnt in my criminology course at university.

I got to my section and found the other guard on duty. I introduced myself and the guard introduced himself as Mike Newton. He acted a bit of a tool who I think was in serious need of a good lay if this was his attempt of trying to get with me. He looked at me like I was something to eat. I let his attitude towards me go but in the small time we spoke he seemed nice enough.

As he made his way to the break room, he told me the same piece of advice I got from the Cullens: _stay away from Whitlock._

*

As the day went by, I still wondered who this Whitlock was. Hopefully, my questions would be answered soon. I looked at the big clock on the furthest wall and noticed it was eleven am. Two hours passed quickly, as I spent them in the office attached to the section and got myself comfortable with the equipment, looking through files.

There were twelve high security prisoners in my section, and they were all in for murder. As this was a small section it wasn't necessary to have more than one guard on duty at a time. I started to shake nervously at being so close to them, but this was my job so I figured it was important to stay positive and not let them see me as nervous.

I had no knowledge of prisoner or their files, but when I was reading through them, I noticed that none of them had Whitlock printed on the front, so I still didn't learn who the famous Whitlock was. Anyway, I decided that I would go out and introduce myself to the prisoners.

I grabbed a whistle as I walked out of the office and made my way to the middle of the section. There was a big space in between the cells on the opposite walls. Everyone was talking among themselves, shouting over the room to talk to those opposite them.

I stood in the center of the section and forcefully blew the whistle.

At once, everyone stopped talking and looked at me.

Suddenly, there were catcalls and inappropriate words being shouted at me. I let this go on for a couple of minutes before I had enough of what was being said and decided that it was enough.

"OI! Shut UP!" I screamed.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me, amused.

"Right. Thank you. My name is Isabella Swan, and I am your new nine am to six pm guard," I said to them confidently. They started talking again.

"I still haven't finished!" I screamed they looked at me again waiting for me to say something and I rolled my eyes at the irony of the situation; I was trying to gain their attention so I could say something, and then they're acting the same.

One of the prisoners saw this.

"Why are you rolling your eyes, darlin'?" said a guy in the cell to my left. I turned quickly to look at him; he was slim, but definitely had some muscles. He had on a tight grey top and grey sweats. They didn't have uniforms in this prison, and I thought that was a good idea. Instead, they were allowed two sets of clothing. I knew they were washed at certain times of the week, but since it didn't concern me, I didn't really know when.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," he said, drawing out the vowels in a southern voice. So this was the famous Whitlock. I looked at him closely and found myself drawn towards him.

I walked over to his cell.

As I approached him, the fresh smell of soap, mixed with something else, something divine, wafted towards me, and almost made me weak in the knees. _Almost_. I looked up at him and noticed his pronounced jaw and deep blue eyes. He had hair that I wanted to run my fingers through, it looked so soft and inviting. I looked at his mouth when I noticed he had pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth. He had lips I just wanted to kiss, suck and nibble on. He truly was a fine specimen of a man.

He cleared his throat, and I blinked a couple of times getting myself back into focus.

"You better now, ma'am?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you, Mr Whitlock."

"You're welcome," he drawled, and winked at me.

I walked away and back into the middle of the room frustrated with myself and incredibly embarrassed at how I acted.

"So...I just wanted to introduce myself," I addressed the room once more. "Now that I have, I can leave you all to it. If you need anything, let me know," I said and walked back into the office quickly and hoping that no one would call for me.

*

Thankfully, no one called on me for the rest of the day. There had been something that had happened the day before, so their meals were brought to their cells this time. I wasn't told the details, but it must have been bad if they were not allowed out to go to meals.

At six pm, the bell rang again, signalling the end of my shift and the start of the next one. I stayed in the office until I got took over; the next guard was another woman, Elsie. So I walked down to the break room. When I got there I swung the door open, took my hat off, and let my hair down. I shook my head and sighed, as I was tired and glad that I managed to get through the day without any incidents.

"Rough day?" someone asked. I looked up and there in the room was Carlisle. He looked the same as this morning, but I could tell from his facial expression that he, too, had a tiring day.

"You could say that," I said to him.

He walked up to me and gave me a hug to comfort me. I didn't usually accept this kind of gesture with someone I had just met, but relished in the feeling of being comforted.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Yeah, that would be good."

We sat down on one of the white leather couches in the room. The room was cream with wooden lightly varnished floorboards. There were three couches, a small kitchen area, and a bathroom.

"So what happened?" he asked me, sounding concerned.

"Well..." I started, but was interrupted by Emmett and Edward as they walked through the door, exhausted.

"What's happening?" Emmett asked.

"I had a rough day," I said to him.

"You want to talk about it?"

"That's why I'm here..." I trailed off.

"Ohhhh," he said and sat down on one of the seats opposite, while Edward sat down in the other couch, in silence. I looked at him and he smiled. His ease made me return the gesture.

"Carry on," he said.

"Well, everything went well. I met Mike Newton, and he gave me the creeps, then I hid out in the office for a couple of hours. But when I went to introduce myself, Whitlock made some really snarky comment, and _wow_."

I stood up and walked over to the kitchen to get a drink from the kitchen, I gestured to Edward, Emmett and Carlisle if they wanted one, and they indicated that they were fine. I walked back to the couch I was sitting on.

"I mean, no one has ever affected my like that before. He was so cocky, but he's just perfect. I know it's wrong to think about an inmate like this, but I can't help it. I'm just wondering, why did you warn me about him?" I asked carrying on.

"He's known for being a bit of a womanizer. We didn't want you to be his latest victim," Carlisle told me.

I smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks," I said as I stood up. "I better get home."

"Okay. Are you on the same shift tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I am. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I clumsily walked over to my locker; got my things and left the building, tired from the day, but relived I managed to get through the door without any problems.

It didn't take me long to get home. I took a shower, blow-dried my hair, got changed into my pyjamas and went into the kitchen for some food. I got a tin of Tomato soup and heated it up while I buttered a couple of pieces of bread. As I was making dinner, my thoughts were on the events that happened today; meeting the Cullens and Jasper Whitlock, and how they all acted towards me. I could see myself really liking my job at the prison.

Once it was done, I poured the soup into a bowl before heading to the living room. I turned on my TV and watched the news as there was nothing else on. Once I was done eating, I put my dishes in the dishwasher and got out a pint of cookie dough ice cream as it was my favourite ice cream and I wanted to splash out a bit after the day's events. I put on Wuthering Heights and watched the film while gorging on the ice cream. By the time the film finished it was eleven pm and I decided to go to bed, waiting the time I was back at work.

I brushed my teeth and got into bed. The last thing I thought about, before drifting off to sleep, were Jasper Whitlock's deep blue eyes.

*

A week had gone by since I'd started my job at HM Stocken. Things had been going well. I was getting along well with the Cullen's, and Mike Newton was still giving me the creeps. The gossip around work was that he had done it with all the other female officers in the past, so it didn't surprise me.

Jasper Whitlock hadn't said anything inappropriate again, but every time I'd walked past him, he greeted me with his sexy voice, and I'd immediately turn to goo. Other than that, Jasper had been acting pretty well.

He never really socialized with the other prisoners, and definitely kept to himself. It was a bit shocking, since usually the inmates talked among themselves to keep them from going mad. I didn't know what he did in his cell, but I was starting to worry.

I'd voiced my worries to the Cullens, and they told me not to worry, since he had always been this way, ever since he first came to the prison. Apparently, he had been given twenty years, having already done eight years.

No one came to visit him, either. It was like he had no one waiting for him on the outside, which I found pretty sad. I hoped things would work out for him once he'd get out. I didn't know him, but there was something about him that just screamed 'get to know me!' I wanted to, I really did. He seemed to draw me in each and every day. To bad it was against the rules to be fraternizing with a prisoner, I didn't want to be fired because of it.

Every night I would eat more ice cream and think about Jasper. Every minute of every day was filled with thoughts of him. It was starting to become an obsession, and not a healthy one at that.

I just hoped that it would go away soon, because I really didn't want it to affect my work. This was my first job since I graduated, and I didn't want to ruin that. Not for him. For Whitlock. I wasn't sure if he was worth it or not.

*

The weeks went by quickly. I tried to stay clear of Jasper, I really did, but it didn't work. Every time I made my rounds past the prisoners, Jasper was waiting for me at his gated door. We usually spoke a little bit, just getting to know each other. The things I've learnt from him over the past week have been astonishing; I know that he was innocent for one. He didn't kill; he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and was falsely convicted.

_It was Wednesday, and I had just begun my rounds. I saved Whitlock's cell until last, so I could talk to him for a while. Once I arrived at his cell, he was already standing there waiting for me._

"_Morning, Whitlock."_

"_Good morning, Bella." We had gotten into first name terms pretty quickly._

"_How are you?" I asked, wanting to get the small talk out of the way. It always seemed so awkward._

"_Good," he replied. "You?"_

"_I'm good..." A faint blush tainted my cheeks. It excited me that he wanted to know about my wellbeing..._

_Conversation with Jasper was easy; he was a great listener and had a different personality from all the other prisoners in the section._

_The conversation steered to how we got in prison in the first place._

"_So what happened exactly?" I asked riddled with curiosity about his case._

"_I don't know, I was running after work - I was a barman at a pub in my area - and I got picked up by the police when I had just gotten close to my house. The next thing I know, I was being charged with murder and sent here. It wasn't until the trial I found out what happened. I learned that the man who was killed was a regular at the bar I worked, but I had never noticed him before. There had been some fights lately and this was the result. At the time of the murder, I was at home just getting in. There were witnesses who said it was me, so they took their word for it." He told me quietly while scratching his head._

"_Didn't they do an investigation or anything?" I asked, angry at the thought that the police didn't do their job properly, ending with an innocent man in jail._

"_Yeah, they did, they got my clothes from the night at work, and found blood on it, I was cleaning up, and managed to get some on me, and it just happened to be the blood of the victim. No one believed me in the first place, all the other workers didn't stand up for me and tell them anything, and there were no cameras in the pub, so they didn't have any solid proof of me telling the truth." He looked down in shame. _

"_Why are you looking like that?" I asked concerned at how he was acting._

"_It's too late. I'm never going to get out of this place. I didn't do anything wrong, and I just wish it never happened." As he was talking, tears started to trail down his face. I put my hand in between the bars of the cell and brushed the tears away from his cheeks. _

"_I wish I could do something to help, Jasper, but I just don't know what I can do. I'll have a look and see if there is anything," I told him sincerely. I hated that he was in this position, it didn't seem right._

"_Thanks, Bella," he said and then walked over to his bed and lay down._

"_You're welcome, Jasper." I walked over to the office and tried to find someway of being able to get him free. The only thing that could release him was to get a statement from one of the workers who saw Jasper cleaning the pub and getting blood on himself that way._

_I went onto the internet to find the pub, only to find that they had been shut down. Finding someone who could free Whitlock would be tiring. I just hoped that it would work._

During our many conversations, I learnt that he was an only child, and that he had no family left; that he'd been single for the past ten years, but it wasn't like he could meet someone where he was at the moment. Unless he already had, I hoped.

I found that he was particularly interested in the American Civil War period.

"_So what did you do during the day when you were a barman?" I asked._

"_I was at university. I studied American History, but if I could have had it my way, it would have been all about the Civil War."_

_A few days later, I approached him and asked, "So what do you like to do?"_

"_Read." His answers were always so short and simple._

"_What kind of things?" I pressed. _

"_Mostly about the Civil War, but none of the books here are about that, and nothing they have here interests me," he said._

When I had learned this, I purchased a couple of books from Amazon and got them delivered the next day. As soon as I could, I put them on the book trolley which went past the cells every day. When Jasper had seen them, he smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen, and it completely warmed my heart. It was always so lovely to see him smile over something so simple as a couple of books.

"_Thank you," he said, the next time I passed his cell._

_I smiled and nodded, before turning back to my office._

After that shift I had told the guys what had happened that day, keeping the goofiest smile on my face as I spoke about Whitlock...

"_You should have seen the look on his face when he saw the books, I thought he was going to die from happiness," I said, sighing as I leant my head back against the couch._

"_Bella, why are you doing that?" Emmett asked, shocked. "It's against the rules." _

_I looked at Emmett and answered, "Because I want to, and it's not his fault he's in here. He's innocent; he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."_

"_You're in love with him," Edward stated from the other side of the room._

_I scoffed, and blushed and then I quickly changed the subject, "So how was your day?"_

"_Don't change the subject, Bella. You're either in love with him or you have a simple infatuation with him, which is it?" Edward asked._

"_I don't. He's just someone I talk to," I told them but my thoughts were deceiving me._

"_Either way, it's against the rules, so either get over him or don't have any more conversations with him."_

They all said I had a crush on him, but I didn't. I couldn't have. It was against the rules. I couldn't have feelings for a prisoner. It was wrong. Every time I told the guys they just smirked at each other and changed the subject.

_Do they know something I don't?_

At the end of each day, I always seemed to find myself stuffing my face with Ben and Jerry's ice cream while watching some sort of romantic comedy. I was a half way through my DVD's already, and I kept ordering new ones from Amazon and , which resulted in spending more money than I was earning. I was sure I'd gained a couple of pounds from the amount of ice cream I'd been consuming, but thankfully I have a fast metabolism so it burned off quickly.

At some point during the first few weeks, I found myself looking forward to going back to work the next day, to see what else I would learn about Whitlock and his life before prison, and what he wanted to do after he would get out. He seemed to think he wouldn't be in for much longer.

"_So what did you do when your not working or at university?" I asked._

"_Nothing much, that's pretty much all I had time to do," he said quietly._

"_Oh, how about when you get out, what do you think you'll do?" I questioned, dying to get him to open up a bit more._

"_Nothing, I won't make it out alive."_

_It shocked me how blunt he was about it. "Why don't you think you'll make it out alive? Of course you will."_

"_Something bad always happens in prisons."_

"_What do you mean?" I asked._

_He sighed. "Nothing," he mumbled, and I knew I wouldn't get any further with the conversation._

My obsession with Whitlock was still going strong; I dreamt about him at night, and I looked forward to our talks, but I didn't feel anything for him. He was just someone who got me through the day.

*

I was talked into going out with the guys and their spouses after work one Saturday, since I had Sundays off. Unfortunately, I had to play the part of the 7th wheel.

Edward, Emmett and Carlisle asked me to meet them outside T.G.I Friday's at eight, for drinks, and then we would go to a club afterwards. Of course I showed up a couple of minutes early, but it didn't matter. Two minutes after I arrived, I saw the three couples rounding the corner of the car park.

They stopped in front of me, and I looked at Carlisle so he could introduce me to the girls.

"Bella, this is Esme, my wife, Alice, and Rosalie, Edward and Emmett's girlfriends."

I went to shake their hands, but Esme pulled me right into her arms, showing the same kindness Carlisle had done my first day on the job. She was the same height as I, with long brown wavy hair, and a kind, oval shaped face.

"Pleased to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from the boys."

"You, too, Mrs Cullen," I said to be polite.

"Nonsense, call me Esme," she insisted.

I then got attacked by someone small, jumping on the spot next to me. "Hey Bella! I'm Alice."

I patted her on the back as her arms went around me. "Nice to meet you, too,"

Edward managed to get her off, and then calm her down drastically, now she just had a smile on her face.

Rosalie stepped forward; she was tall, with long blonde hair, and blue eyes. She also wrapped her arms around me. "Nice to meet you," she said before letting go of me.

"You too Rosalie," I said.

We all got along great. We went inside and got to the drinking right away. The girls were asking me if I had a 'special' guy in my life. Naturally, I blushed, and the girls wouldn't give up until I told them. So I mentioned 'a guy from work', which was completely true. The guys just laughed, since they knew who I was on about.

Obviously, the girls picked up on it and demanded to know who it was. I refused to say anything but in the end, Emmett blabbed. I glared at him when he told them, but he just shrugged.

"Jasper Whitlock?!" they squealed. They had heard about him before, from the guys, so they knew all about his...ways. There had been a couple of female workers in my section before I arrived, and Jasper was a known flirt with them. The women had reported him, but nothing came of it apart from a lot of rumours.

Rosalie leaned over the table, "So, what's the deal with you and Whitlock? He gets you all hot and bothered, does he?" She asked and winked at me.

"No," I laughed, before downing a shot of tequila. Shaking my head, I was quick to bite into the lemon slice to dull the bitter taste. The sour lemon, however, made me cringe, which the others found very amusing.

"I think you do," Alice insisted.

"Guys! I don't. He's just a random dude! He talks to me, and it helps pass the time. That. Is. It," I said, punctuating my sentence by poking my finger at the table top.

As the night wore on I drank more and more alcohol, making up for lost time. Of course, it also kept my mind off Jasper, aside from the insistent questions from the others.

The girls were relentless in their query about Whitlock, but I kept denying it, until I finally slipped.

"I do!" I admitted, totally wasted.

"I knew it!" they all exclaimed and then giggled together for a couple of minutes.

Everything went black after that, and the next thing I knew, I woke up on Emmett's living room floor. I must have crashed.

*

Come Monday morning, I was ready to get back to work; the weekend had completely taken it out of me.

As I sat in the office, I looked over the day's to-do list:

11:00AM - Make rounds

12:00 - Lunch

1PM - Book trolley

2PM - Take Mr. Jasper Whitlock to the Prison's Doctor for his appointment

3PM - Make rounds

4PM - Paper work

6PM - Shift change

I stared at the two pm instruction for a good twenty minutes...

_Why does Whitlock need the doctor? He's not sick, is he?_

By the time two pm came around, I was starting to get really anxious. What if he really was ill? But maybe I was just being paranoid and making a big deal out of nothing.

I decided I would ask him about it on our way down.

When I got to his cell, I quickly opened it up, as I was worried about him. Jasper sprung from his bed and stood in front of me.

"It's...time for your... appointment," I stammered, embarrassed at how I acted by opening his door.

It was the first time I was able to see him face-to-face without any metal in our way. Somehow, he was even more gorgeous. Taking a few minutes to look at him properly, I noticed his muscles clenching under his t-shirt, as he was nervously twisting his hands. He truly was a wonderful specimen.

I grabbed hold of his arm, since physical contact to appointments was protocol. I didn't expect the shock I got from touching him, so I quickly pulled my hand back.

"Sorry," he muttered.

I gingerly put my hand back on his arm, and this time it only tingled. I smiled and looked up at him. He was smiling too.

We made our way down to the doctor's office, and I managed to get it out of him of why he had to go to the doctors. He said it was for a check up. Something about the way he said it made me not believe him.

On the way down, I realised that I did actually like him. When I had admitted it the night with Esme, Rosalie and Alice, it was just because I was drunk and I wanted them off my back, but now, being with him like this, made me realise that I did like him, maybe even… love him. The conversation between us came easily, but whenever I tried to move the conversation back to his upcoming doctor's appointment, he clammed up. Whatever it was, he didn't want me to know.

_Is it because he doesn't trust me?_

When we got to the reception area, I told the receptionist who it was, and they told us to sit down. Jasper was called in a minute later, but I was told to wait outside. The next twenty minutes were the longest in my entire life. As I waited, the amount of possibilities running through my head were endless.

_Did he have some sort of incurable illness? Was it cancer? Or something worse?_

When he came out, he looked at me and smiled sadly; whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Are you okay?" I asked him on the way back.

"Yeah, I am, thanks," he replied. We carried on walking and then suddenly he stopped, the silence between us was awkward.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

What happened next I was not prepared for; Jasper looked at me, determined as well as nervous, and I wondered if it was because he was about to tell me what was wrong with him, or if it was something else.

Then suddenly he backed me into the wall next to us, and cornered me against it. His hand moved from the wall he was pushing himself against and deliberately tilted my chin so I would look at him. I gasped. I was scared at what he would do next; he might kill me, or he might just be trying to intimidate me for some reason.

In one swoop, his lips crashed against mine. A spark was lit and fireworks went off in my head. He licked my lower lip, begging for entrance, and I allowed it. Our tongues battled against each other's and I moaned from the pleasure I was getting from the kiss, but I was impatient for more. He explored my mouth with his tongue. I couldn't get enough of him. He was perfect; he was thoughtful, gorgeous, and an excellent kisser.

Unfortunately, the kiss ended. He placed his forehead against mine and breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath from our kissing.

"I'm sorry," he gasped out, looking regretful.

I shushed him. "Don't be," I said to him softly. He nodded, and we walked back to Section 4 in a comfortable silence. I walked him back to his cell, but when we arrived, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. He smiled at me happily, and sat on his bed.

I walked back to my office in a daze, and spent the rest of the shift thinking about Jasper and his luscious lips against mine.

*

The rest of my shift went by quickly. I didn't stay long enough to talk to the guys after work, since I really just wanted to get out of there and get home. So that is where I found myself; on my couch, watching 2_7 Dresses_ and drinking red wine.

Though, I wasn't concentrating on the film. My thoughts were completely focused on Jasper Whitlock and the best kiss of my life. I did have some experience with men, but it had always been the odd-date and no phone calls afterwards.

My feelings for Jasper were definitely different to the feelings I have had for the other men I've dated.

Now I didn't know whether to quit my job or stay.

The next morning I decided to talk to Carlisle, see if he could help me.

I just hoped he would be able to help me. I really need it.

*

I was fifteen minutes early for my shift the next day. I decided that it would be a good idea to be there before Carlisle arrived, so I could approach him with my problem. Hopefully he would be able to explain things to me.

I didn't have to wait long, as he walked through the doors two minutes after I got in.

"Morning, Carlisle."

"Morning, Bella. You're early," Carlisle observed.

"I know I am. I was hoping I could talk to you before shift started. Is that okay?" I asked nervously.

"Of course. What's wrong?" Carlisle asked as he sat down.

"Well, I don't know what to do. I'm thinking this is a 'quit your job or stay quiet and take it for granted' thing," I admitted.

"What's happened?" Carlisle asked, sounding concerned, as Edward and Emmett came in the room and said their 'good mornings' to us before sitting on the couches to hear what we were talking about.

"Whitlock kissed me," I told them quickly, hoping that the quicker I'd tell them, the less painful it would be.

"Whitlock did what?" Emmett asked, surprised.

"He kissed me. Yesterday, I took him to his doctor's appointment, and then on the way back, he stopped and kissed me."

"Are you serious?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded.

"So what happened next?" Emmett asked, scooting over closer.

"Nothing. I walked him back to his cell, and that was it. I stayed in the office of the rest of the day; I couldn't face him, or anyone else for that matter."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Carlisle asked, reaching over to grab my hand.

"I don't know. I was thinking of either transferring to another unit or quitting altogether. What do you think I should do?" I asked.

"Transfer, it's not worth completely losing your job over," Carlisle told me.

"Okay, I'll go and see the chief now." I stood up.

"Good luck," they told me as they gave me hugs to show their support.

*

I left the room and headed to the Chief's office. The only other time I'd met him was at my interview. When I arrived at his door, I knocked timidly on his door. I heard a faint "Come in" from within the room.

I opened the door and walked in, and I wiped my hands on my trousers in a nervous gesture.

Chief Garland was sitting behind his vast desk, typing away on his computer. He's a tall rugged looking man; he looked up briefly to see who it entered.

"Ah, Miss Swan, nice to see you again. What can I do for you?" He asked sincerely.

"Morning, sir. I was wondering if I could be moved to another section? I'm having a couple of problems with the prisoners, and I don't want it to affect my work in any way," I admitted.

"Okay, but please tell me the real reason," he said to me, looking over his glasses.

I took a deep breath, "I'm developing feelings for one of the prisoner in my section, sir." I thought it would be best to get it out of the way as quickly and painlessly as possible.

He stayed silent for a couple of minutes before he let out a deep sigh.

_That's it, I'm fired,_ I thought to myself angrily.

"The prisoner in question isn't by any chance a Mr Jasper Whitlock, is it?" he asked.

I looked down at the floor. I traced the pattern on the floor for a moment before answering.

"Yes sir, it is." I said, my voice wavering slightly.

"Hmm. Has anything inappropriate happened?" he asked. I'd never been a very good liar, so I decided to just tell the truth.

"Yes, sir. We've kissed." I told him quietly.

"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday," I told him.

"Very well. I will grant permission for your request. You will start immediately. You will be moved to Section 6. I'll swap you with Carlisle Cullen. I understand you know him?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Don't let me regret this, Swan," he said.

I nodded agreeing with him.

"Of course, sir."

_*_

It had been a month since I was transferred to Section 6. Carlisle told me Whitlock wasn't doing well at all. He was getting really ill; losing so much weight and just looking really gaunt.

Work was fine, but I was no longer looking forward to going in anymore. I had been going in just for the sake of it. My work hadn't suffered, but I knew it wasn't the best I could do. When I introduced myself to the prisoners, they weren't bothered by it; they just wanted to know where Carlisle had gone, so I told them the truth.

"He's been transferred."

All of the prisoners came up with their own versions of what had happened, some of them not all that far from the truth, while others were more barbaric.

Apparently, I had killed someone in Section 4, and I'd been sleeping with boss so I was being promoted and some other weird things like that. To be honest, I probably would have ended up in a cell myself, not guarding people who were in one, if I had staid

Thursday was just another normal day, since there was nothing important that I needed to do, no appointments or anything. As the day went on, I got a nagging feeling that something had happened or something was going to happen.

The office phone rang when I had only an hour left of my shift. I picked it up without hesitation, since it was not that uncommon.

"Hello, this is Section 6, Bella speaking."

"Bella, it's Carlisle," he replied in a worried voice

"Hey, Carlisle, what's up?" I asked.

"It's Whitlock, he's in hospital. He's taken a turn for the worst, he's in a coma." I gasped, and tears started to run down my face.

"What's wrong with him?" I sobbed.

"He has diabetes, Bella," Carlisle told me.

"But, he never took insulin or anything," I said to him.

"I know. He's been having checkups for the last couple of weeks; he hadn't been diagnosed properly and they wanted to make sure his levels were okay and not something else. His body is rejecting any medication he has been given. He's in the hospital wing now," Carlisle said.

"Will he be okay?" I asked my voice cracking with emotion.

_He has to be okay. I need him._

"I don't know. They said there's a chance he won't make it," Carlisle told me gravely.

I cradled the phone in my arms and sobbed. I put the phone back up to my ear, after a couple of minutes.

"Bella, you only have 50 minutes before the end of shift. Calm down and go see him afterwards. They will let you in, I promise," Carlisle said.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Carlisle. I'll see you tomorrow," I told him before putting the phone down.

_*_

The rest of the shift went by quickly, and I rushed to get down to the hospital to see Jasper. When I got there, the nurses told me where he was, and that he had just woken up. They said he was still in critical condition: although he was awake and alert, there really was no knowing whether the treatment was working or not. All they could do now was to wait and see.

I tentatively walked into his room and noticed he was asleep, so I quietly walked up to his side, so I wouldn't disturb him, and brushed his hair out of his face, bending down to kiss his forehead, softly. He slowly opened his beautiful eyes, and when he finally gained focus, he looked at me guiltily and smiled.

"Hey," he rasped out.

I grasped hold of his hand tightly; I didn't want to let him go. "You scared me, you know," I told him, trying to be cheerful but my voice clearly said otherwise.

"Sorry," he said and coughed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, hoping he felt better.

"Rough."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked hurt over the fact he didn't tell me what was wrong with him.

"I didn't want the only reason you'd talk to me would be because I was sick. You are a good person, Bella, and it's bad enough that I'm in prison for something I didn't do, I didn't want this to make you pity me even more!" He said in frustration.

"I don't understand, Jasper. I was supposed to know! It's my job to make sure you're healthy at all times, and if something had happened while I was in Section 4, then I could have been fired or something," I told him, my voice cracking, as I didn't want to be angry with him but I was.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you think of me as weak."

"You are not weak; you're an amazing human being," I told him, looking into his deep blue eyes.

He smiled. His hand reached out and grabbed my other hand, which had been holding onto the sidebar. He squeezed it tightly, like he didn't want to let me go at all.

"Do you know when I can get out of here?" he asked.

"Nope, I haven't got a clue, but I presume in a couple of days. They want to make sure you're fine before you go back to your cell."

He nodded in understanding.

"Okay," he whispered.

I sat down next to him and traced patterns up along his arm. I smiled, relishing in my thoughts.

_I never thought I'd fall for someone in my line of work, especially for a convicted criminal, but I have and all I want is for him to be well again._

"What you smiling about?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said, grinning sheepishly.

_But what if he dies? This could be the only chance I get to tell him. I have to tell him._

He moved his hand and ran his fingers down my cheek.

"Tell me," he whispered.

_It's probably too soon, right?_

I shook my head 'no'. He moved his fingers so they were under my chin, he guided my face down to his and he kissed me softly trying to coax it out of me.

"Please," he begged in a whisper.

_I give up. I need to tell him._

"I was thinking of how much I love you," I said, mesmerised in his deep blue eyes. When I'd look at him I'd loose myself, my knees would weaken and I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

It didn't take long for the insecurities to settle in.

_Why did I tell him?! He probably thinks I only told him because he's in hospital, dumb ass._

I broke his gaze and looked around the room in my embarrassment.

I calmed down after a couple of minutes and looked up at him, curious to know his reaction, and he was beaming.

"Really?" he asked. I was scared to answer him, so I just nodded and avoided my gaze.

"Good," he said. I looked up at him quickly and gave him a questioning look.

"Because I love you, too," he told me, the love shining in his eyes.

I couldn't control the ridiculously big smile that threatened to split my face in two. The sound of his laughter made me blush: I couldn't believe it was because of me he sounded so happy. I looked down again in embarrassment, afraid to scare him off with my smile.

"Don't hide your face from me," he demanded, teasing me slightly.

I lifted my head up so he could see me.

"There you are," he joked.

My head tilted back as I laughed cheerfully.

I looked into his eyes and didn't focus on anything else for minutes, but the spell was broken when he spoke.

"So, are you gonna stare at me all day, or are you going to kiss me?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow and smiling deviously, daring me to refuse him.

I giggled softly and slowly moved my head down and kissed him. Whitlock, however, had a different idea completely; he kissed me with so much passion, it was making me dizzy. He managed to part my lips with his own, breathing inside my mouth and letting me taste him; he tasted of pure Jasper and mint.

As the kiss carried on, I felt his tongue touch my bottom lip, so I opened my mouth even wider and gently touched his tongue with mine. We fought for dominance and thankfully this time I won, I explored his mouth with my tongue. After a couple of minutes, his tongue was in my mouth, exploring; our tongues brushed against each other, and one either nudging or thrusting against the other. The feeling of his tongue in my mouth was the most amazing feeling I'd ever experienced.

Our kiss was like us making love together: it was beautiful and perfect.

Eventually we had to break apart to calm ourselves, but just ended up holding each other for a while, exchanging quick pecks between happy sighs and silly giggles. I didn't know how long I was in there with him, but finally one of the nurses came in and kicked me out.

Before I left, I kissed Jasper goodbye, and told him I'd see him in the morning. He nodded and kissed me back.

I didn't want to leave, but I knew I had to. The thought of him getting worse throughout the night made my stomach turn. I just hoped he would make it through the night.

_*_

As I was driving home, I decided that I wouldn't consume any Ben and Jerry's ice cream that night, and that I wouldn't wallow in any chick flicks. So far, I'd been good: I prepared myself a decent meal of Lasagne and salad, and watched a bit of telly. I found a re-run of Loose Women and settled on that.

As the night wore in, I got more and more excited for going back to Whitlock the next morning. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him in the past month. I was sure of two things: one, I was in love with Jasper Whitlock, and two, I didn't care how long I'd have to wait for him to get out, only that I would.

The rest of the night went by quickly. I spent the evening doing girly things, and for once I felt happy with reading about Elizabeth Bennett instead of being envious.

I was in bed by eleven o'clock, and that night my dreams consisted of Jasper Whitlock and his dreamy blue eyes.

_*_

At I was abruptly woken by the sound of the incessant ringing of my mobile I leaned over to the bedside table and picked it up without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered, sleep thick in my voice.

"Hi, is this Isabella Swan?" the person on the other end asked.

"Yes, this is she," I answered as I sat up, alarmed by the formality of the voice.

"Hi, this is Nurse Smith from the Prison Hospital. I was informed to tell you if anything happened to a Mr. Jasper Whitlock," the nurse told me.

"Is he okay?" I asked hurriedly, climbing out of bed to find my clothes, so if need be, I could run out of the house immediately.

"No, I'm afraid not ma'am. He died in the early hours of the morning. I'm sorry," she said emotionless. As I registered the words, time seemed to stop and I collapsed in a heap on the floor.

At first I had trouble breathing, but then again, everything was difficult. My thoughts couldn't decide if they were going million miles a minute or lulling at a snail's pace.

_He's dead?_

I couldn't handle it; the thought was so absurd.

"He died?" I asked out loud between sobs. I didn't even realise I was crying. "But h-he was fine last night when I was him..." I whispered my thoughts in a strangled voice, not even noticing that I was still on the phone.

"I'm really sorry, Miss. Is there anything we can do for you?" The faint words of the woman barely registered, but at the sound of the noise I abruptly hung up the phone.

A scream rippled through my body, and I broke down on the floor, tears flowing in angry streams down my face.

I didn't know for how long I lay on the bed, since I couldn't concentrate on anything else than the thought that he was gone.

_He's gone..._

_*_

By nine am I was ready to turn off my mobile and pull out the landline cord. The phone just kept on ringing. By nine-thirty, I finally had enough and decided to answer it.

"Hello?" I asked, sobbing.

"Bella? Why aren't you at work?" Emmett asked.

"He died, Emmett. He's gone," The mere thought made me break down all over again.

"Who died?" He asked.

"Jasper..." I choked out.

"I'm sorry, Bells. I'll call someone to cover your shift. Do you want me to send Rosalie over?" he asked.

"No thank you, Emmett. I'm going to go down to the hospital later to say goodbye. I want to be on my own right now," I told him.

"As long as you're sure, Bella. I don't like you being on your own like this," he said.

"It's fine. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Emmett." I ended the conversation and crawled into my bed, seeking out some comfort.

At ten I got up and left the house to go to the prison. I parked my car in my spot and walked over to the hospital. When I got there, I asked one of the nurses to take me to the morgue. She was reluctant, but she took me anyway.

They took me straight to Whitlock. When they pulled open the fridge door and pulled him out, fresh tears stained my face, and I collapsed again on the floor.

"Why?!" I shouted.

"Why him?" I asked, bawling.

"He didn't deserve this!" I exclaimed with tears rapidly falling down my face, my body hunched over and my arms wrapped around me.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said and slowly wrapped her arms around me, to keep me still.

"It doesn't look like him," I said. "Is it really him?" I asked her.

She nodded. - "I'm sorry, Miss."

I bent down and kissed his forehead. His skin was cold and hard; it felt alien. I felt devasted by how he no longer looked or felt like him.

"I love you, Jasper Whitlock, I will always love you," I whispered before turning and nodding to the nurse, and she walked me out of the room. Just before I left, I turned around for a last glimpse of Jasper Whitlock.

I stayed in the hospital wing's waiting room for a couple of hours. When I got myself together, I walked up to the Chief's office.

I knocked on the door, and I walked in when I heard the familiar "come in."

Once inside, I sat straight down on the chair opposite the chief.

"I quit."

"Why, Miss Swan?" The chief inquired, looking unhappy.

"I can't work here anymore. I'm sorry."

"We can get you transferred over to another prison if you wish?" he offered.

"No, thank you. I want to start afresh. It has nothing to do with prisons, I'm sorry. Thank you for the opportunity you gave me, though," I said to him sincerely.

"Very well. I'll send you your forms in the mail." He stood up and shook my hand. I nodded and walked out of his office and out of the prison. I got into my car and sighed in relief that it was all over but crestfallen over the fact it took Whitlock to die for me to quit. I drove home once I calmed down and never looked back.

*

Two years later, I have just finished my first book, "Love Behind Bars." It's a book dedicated to Jasper Whitlock. I tried searching for a lead to clear Jasper's name but all the leads I received, were dead ends.

I miss Whitlock a lot. I know we didn't spend a lot time together but the couple of months I did know him were some of the best times in my life. I'm glad I went to work at HM Stocken; it gave me a good sense of what really happens in a prison and the ups and downs of life as a prison officer. All the knowledge I received from the job is now put down on paper when I write my own crime novels.

My life will never be the same again, and I'll never be completely over Whitlock, but I've been slowly trying to get past it and be happy. He showed me how to love, and that is something I will never forget.


End file.
